The View from Bologna

So, when Schillaci appeared as one of the three remaining finalists in L'isola dei famosi, I admit to spitefully hoping that anyone out of the mediocrities on display would win over and above the footballing legend.

Such base nationalism seems to have been admirably absent from the Italian public's mind, as they voted Schillaci out, leaving the competition between two stranieri (foreigners), Sergio Muniz from Spain, and Kabir Bedi from India.

To some it was a heartening indication of Italy's multiculturalism, and indeed the editor of Gente, a Hello style tabloid, Umberto Brindani said as much during the live broadcast.

Let's not get ahead of ourselves though. While far from widespread, there does remain a strong racist nationalism alive and well in the heart of Italian public life. As if to remind us of this, La Padania, the paper connected with Umberto Bossi's Lega Nord (one of the governing parties in Berlusconi's coalition), published an article entitled "The real racism affecting Padania" [Padania being the name given to the Northern part of Italy where La Lega derives most of its support].

The 'real racism' of which the paper speaks, in an inversion worthy of Rocco Buttiglione, is that against the native Italian, or more accurately Padanian, who finds himself, allegedly, at a disadvantage in contrast with the hordes of invading extra-comunitari. In response to the opening of a national office to combat racial discriminiation, Leghista Davide Boni has decided that there should be an office set up to defend the rights of Padanians. "To be Italian is difficult, to not be an immigrant has become a disadvantage", said Boni, according to La Padania, talking about his initiative. Umberto Bossi, leader of Lega Nord, and framer of Italy's most recent immigration legislation, last year famously said about Milan's housing list: "Houses must go to Lombards first, not to the first 'bingo bongo' that arrives"[2].

As a European citizen, who recently had to renew his permesso di soggiorno,a permit required to do virtually anything including work or open a bank account, standing in a queue for hours, listening to civil servants screaming "Don't you speak Italian?!" at people struggling with the various forms that need to be filled in, I would suggest to sustainers of Mr Boni's argument that there is anything but an advantage to being a foreigner in Italy. As someone, thanks to Irish citizenship, with every right to be here, I dread to think what the process must be for those arriving from outside the European Community.

Of course, my own traumatic experience with bureaucracy means little - rules after all are rules. There's the evidence though from a recent study conducted by the International Labour Organisation and the International and European Forum of Migration Research. In the study[3], conducted in several countries, two actors responded to job ads by telephone, the only difference between them being their nationality. Out of 533 cases, 367 employers invited both candidates to interview, but 154 invited only the Italian, while only 12 invited the foreigner to the exclusion of the Italian. In 26.6% of cases then, an employer chose not to invite a perfectly qualified foreigner for interview. On top of that, there's the survey by the APPC, an association of small landlords, that found that 57% would not rent their property to non-Italians (the survey was carried out in a number of cities, and an average rate taken - shamefully Bologna was top of the list with a whopping 95%).

To suggest that being Italian has become a disadvantage in Italy is, to put it simply, ludicrous.

This over-the-top nationalism leaves a bad taste in the mouth, and so, on possibly the first occasion that this Monkey has learned anything from the Lega, however unwittingly taught on their part, I hereby retire from bigoted grudges against Sicilian strikers - and officially wish Totò Schillaci the best (God knows he's suffered enough, having been reduced to appearing on L'isola dei famosi).

* L'isola dei famosi corresponds to
[1] "sentirsi italiani è difficile, non essere immigrati è diventata una situazione di svantaggio." - La Padania, 21/11/2004
[2]"Le case si danno prima ai lombardi e non al primo 'bingo bongo' che arriva" - La Repubblica 4/12/2003
[3]La discriminazione dei lavoratori immigrati nel mercato del lavoro in Italia - Report published by FIERI and ILO